China has permitted the screening of a Korean film in its theatres for the first time in six years NME reports.
Comedy film Oh! My Gran is set to hit Chinese theatres this Friday (December 3), the report says, becoming the first Korean film to be screened in the nation in six years since 2015’s Assassination, starring Jun Ji-hyun (Legend Of The Blue Sea, Jirisan) and Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game, The Housemaid).
Oh! My Gran, which first premiered in 2020, stars actress Na Moon-hee as the film’s lead character of Moon-hee, an elderly woman who believes she is a princess in an animated series, but is actually diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and is under the care of her son Du-won and granddaughter Bo-mi.
Film critics in China are optimistic about the future of Korean films and shows in the East Asian country, describing the screening of Oh! My Gran in China as an “icebreaker” between the two nations.
“Maybe it’s an attempt to break the ice,” Luo Luo, a film critic based in Beijing, told the Global Times, before explaining that this particular film was chosen as a potential first of many to come due to its universal theme of familial bonds and love.
“The film will be released near the end of the year, which is a time when families greet each other or get together. The affection in the film touches the hearts of the audience and makes them think about their family relationships and feelings,” added Luo Luo.
In other K-entertainment news, a new Gong Yoo-led sci-fi series titled The Silent Sea is set to premiere worldwide on Netflix this Christmas Eve (December 24). He will also be joined by Lee Joon, alongside Sense8‘s Bae Doo-na and Squid Game’s Heo Sung-tae, among others.
The Silent Sea is based on director Choi Hang Yong’s 2014 short film, The Sea Of Tranquility. Choi has also returned to direct the Netflix adaptation, which was co-written by award-winning screenwriter Park Eun-Kyo.
